Paul Ibe, an aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has said presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala's admission that President Bola Tinubu's economic reforms have pushed more Nigerians into poverty is revealing.
According to him, Bwala's statement, made during an interview with Channels TV, indicts an administration that seems more concerned with defending its policies than protecting the people those policies are meant to serve.
Ibe reminded Bwala of a fundamental principle of governance: policies are made for man, not man for policies.
He said economic reform should improve human welfare, not impoverish citizens and then celebrate their suffering as a necessary sacrifice.
"If Tinubu’s policies have pushed more Nigerians into poverty, destroyed purchasing power, increased the cost of food, transportation and electricity, and undermined businesses, then those policies deserve urgent review, not endless propaganda.
"That is precisely why Atiku has proposed a review of the Tinubu administration's approach to petrol subsidy and electricity pricing, including a transparent, production-based subsidy framework that can reduce energy costs and provide relief to households and businesses," Atiku's aide said.
He advised that reform should have a human face, adding that economic policies should serve the people, not sacrifice the people on the altar of economic theories.
"Bwala speaks of progress. But progress for whom? The government collecting more revenue or the Nigerian struggling to feed a family, pay electricity bills, and keep a business alive?
"Tinubu cannot claim economic success while admitting that his policies have made more Nigerians poor.
"The ultimate measure of good governance is not how stubbornly a government defends its policies, but how positively those policies transform the lives of its citizens.
"Nigerians are not laboratory rats for Tinubu's economic experiments. They deserve relief, dignity, and a better life which Tinubu’s second term cannot guarantee. Indeed, Tinubu is primed to be an undertaker if handed a return mandate," he said.
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